Ski toy



R. HAUSSER April 30, 1957 SKI TOY Filed Feb. 23, 1954 INVENTOR ROLF HAUSSER ATTORNEY United States Patent O SKI TOY Rolf Hausser, Neustadt, near Coburg, Germany, assignor to 0. & M. Hausser, Neustadt, near Coburg, Germany, a firm Application February 23, 1954, Serial No. 411,868

Claims priority, application Germany February 25, 1953 4 Claims. (Cl. 46-116) 'The present invention relates to a ski toy and has for its object to impart to such a toy, composed of a ropeway carrying, for example, chairs, a skiing slope or runway and at least one skiing figure, a special feature of amusement by making it possible for the skier to alight from the means of conveyance, for example, a chair on the ropeway which brings him to the top of the skiing slope or runway, and to take off and glide down the slope.

According to the present invention, an arrangement is provided which automatically disengages the skier from the means of conveyance on approaching the top of the slope and brings him into the position for taking off down the skiing slope. The means of conveyance may be a chair suspended from the ropeway on which the skier sits, or the ropeway may be an elevator to which the skier is hooked and pulled up to the top of the slope.

To attain this object, a releasing element is arranged in the path of movement of part of the toy near the top of the slope-such part may be the seating arrangement and/ or the pulling device and/ or the skier and so forthwhich element imparts a tipping movement to the part in question thereby causing the release of the skier. Thus, for example, a transverse member may be provided which projects into the range of movement of the rear portion of the skis, which, when the skier is sitting on the chair, are downwardly inclined, and raises the rear ends of the skis when they come into contact with the member, thereby causing the front ends to swing downwards and tipping the skier out of the chair.

According to another feature of the present invention, the transverse member is arranged at such a distance from the top edge of the slope that, as the skier alights, the rear ends of his skis continue to slide on the transverse member until the skier has been carried or pushed over the top edge of the slope.

It is a particularly fascinating and surprising effect to see how a toy figure sitting, for example, on a chair on an ascending ropeway, suddenly gets up and assumes the ready position at the top of the slope and then takes 01?. As a consequence the toy is not only interesting in itself, but also constitutes a great inducement to keep the child continually amused. Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by the simplicity of the means by which the problem is solved. These means become still more remarkable if, according to another feature of the present invention, the transverse member is constructed as the railing of a platform built in front of the slope or runway.

An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a skier wearing skis and sitting on a chair ropeway elevator,

2 Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the skier alighting from the chair and taking off down the slope.

A rope a is movable in a longitudinal direction andcarries on the end of a rod b a chair c, the seat d of which inclines towards the rear to hold a skier e so that he will not fall out unintentionally. This danger exists if the chair is shaken, for example, when the suspension rod b runs over a driving wheel or the like.

The skier e is so constructed that he is in a sitting position which corresponds approximately to the stooping position assumed by a skier when taking off down a slope. On this account and owing to the inclination of the seat, the skis f worn bythe skier tilt slightly downwards towards their rear ends.

At a distance from the top of the slope g a transverse member h is arranged at such a height that the rear portions of the skis 1 come into contact with it and are slightly raised by this member h when the skis slide thereover. Therefore, as shown in dotted and dot-dash lines in Fig. 2, the skis first assume a horizontal position and then a position in which they incline downwardly at their front ends. During this rocking movement the skier, being rigidly connected to the skis, participates in the swinging movement. He is therefore, so to speak, tipped out of the chair 0 as, in continuing its forward movement, it pushes the skier in front off it until he is pushed over the upper edge i on to the slope g down which he then slides.

It is advisable for the distance X between the transverse member h and the upper edge i of the slope to be so chosen that the rear portions of the skis still slide on the transverse member h while the skier is being tipped out of the chair and is moved forwardly by the chair towards the top of the slope. The ends of the skis should only be clear of the transverse member h when the skier has passed the upper edge i of the slope so that there is no longer any danger of his tipping back on to the edge i.

The transverse member h is preferably constructed as shown in the example illustrated, that is, as a crossbar of a railing on a platform from which the skier figures can then be made to take oil when they do not alight from the chair ropeway elevator but are placed on the platform by playing children and pushed over the edge i of the slope by hand.

To ensure that the skier figures stand firmly, it is advisable to make them from a material of heavy specific gravity or to fit weights in or on them. To increase the speed of travel on the slope, small runner wheels may also be provided.

The invention is not restricted to the example illustrated and described. As mentioned in the introduction, it is not confined to chair ropeway elevators, but can also be used with traction elevators and other types of ropeways.

I claim:

1. A ski toy comprising in combination, a slope, a ropeway leading to the top of said slope, at least one chair attached to said ropeway, a non-upright skier figure adapted to be carried by said chair in a substantially sitting position, skis rigidly connected to said figure and sloping downwards towards their rear end with said figure seated in said chair, and a transverse member extending into the path of movement of said skis near the top of said slope and engaging said skis over a predetermined distance of travel thereof to gradually raise the rear end thereof to tip the figure out of said seat and dispatch the same downwardly of said slope in the same position no Patented Apr. 30, 1957 3 copied in the chair, said non-upright position corresponding simultaneously to a, substantially normal sitting position while in said chair and to an essentially normal downhill position while descending the slope.

2. A ski-toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein the transverse member is arranged at such a distance from the upper edge of the slope that the skis slide along said member while the figure is being tipped out of the chair until the figure is carried beyond the top edge of said slope.

3. A ski-toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein the transverse member is constructed as a railing of a platform preceding the top end of the slope.

4. A ski toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein the seat of the chair slants downwardly from the front towards the rear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 856,118 Wallace June 4, 1907 2,518,457 Fretter Aug. 15, 1950 2,582,201 Huntington Jan. 8, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 671,384 Germany Feb. 6, 1939 

